Changing Tides
by captainswanandco
Summary: So I saw a fantastic little prompt from yoadrianxxid and I couldn't help myself. This is my headcanon for what would have happened had Charming let Emma stay by the docks/if Killian had headed back to his ship after Tink rejected him. As always, feedback is appreciated :3


"Well, well, well what do we have here?"

Emma's head snapped up, dropping the piece of sea glass she had collected while roaming the beach after her conversation with David as she heard footsteps approaching her from behind as the gravelly voice came closer.

"I thought my eyes had deceived me. Why aren't you with Baelfire, love? I thought you two had a… date."

He stressed the last consonant, almost sneering at her as he came to stand by her. He openly stared at her and she sneaked a glance up at him. Despite his harsh tone, his eyes were heavy and Emma knew he was tired. His breath reeked of rum and the bags under his eyes revealed an entirely sleepless night. He was unraveling and although she knew she shouldn't care it took all of her self-restraint to not move closer to the pirate, to comfort him. Squaring her jaw she attempted a glare at him but her face and voice were laced with concern.

"Hook, I really don't need this right now."

Sighing, she drew her arms up to her chest, blowing on her chilled fingers before sticking them back in her pockets. She had been standing on the docks for the last half hour, having wandered the streets of Storybrooke since her lunch break started. The steady lapsing of the waves had done wonders for her nerves, but the cold ocean breeze bit at any exposed skin. Burying her face into her scarf, Emma couldn't help but wonder if she should be at the dinner, fingers wrapped around a mug of hot chocolate. No, it was a bad idea. Despite David's encouragement to find what made her happy, she didn't want to see Neal. Their conversation had driven her to the docks, unwilling to confront those emotions, to drag them up from the past. That conversation would only bring about more hurt and anger, not the happiness she so desperately needed, now. Despite the love that she had felt for him, did feel for him- nothing she had said in Neverland was a lie. She truly had wished to find Neal dead, to leave him in the past. Her breath faltered as she remembered every single day she had spent in that jail cell- alone, confused, truly abandoned. Although he was making great steps with Henry, those years of pain and betrayal could not be so easily forgiven. Neal had left her- scared to confront his own identity and unwilling to fight for the love that she thought they had. Neal had proven the type of man he was. As appealing as it was to have the person she desired for so long back in her life, the past could not be forgotten. Neal had been as much of a coward as his father. Her forgiveness would not come easy. The emotions she had came coupled with too much pain for her to return to the way things were, to what she thought they had.

Looking at Hook, she noticed the silence that had fallen between them despite her inner ramblings. Her eyes found the ferocity that they had previously lacked. Hook, for all his declarations of love, had been nowhere to be found and as much as she hated to admit it, she missed him. The closeness they had developed in Neverland was too much for her not to. He had comforted her, assured her, believed in her when everything seemed so bleak. Yet, as soon as they returned, he was seeking solitude in a flask of rum.

"What no witty retorts for me today? No innuendos from the leather clad pirate?"

He stared at her for a bit, all previous hints of aggression wiped clean from his face. His eyes only reflected sadness and it made Emma's skin itch. She was used to Hook being flirtatious, aggressive, and even sincere but she had never seen that look from him. This wasn't just sadness. It was laced with much more; anger, desperation, lust, love, it was an overwhelming sorrow. It made her want to slap him, kiss him- do something, anything to change the way his icy eyes, once deep and warm with his every look, now seemed to pierce through her.

"Not today, Lady Swan. It appears that my charms are not the ones you have fallen for."

Emma's brows knit in confusion, stunned into silence while he brought his bottle to his lips, never taking his eyes off of her own.

"Hook, what are you talking about?"

"Baelfire," he hissed, throwing the empty bottle against the rocks, "Mother, father and son, reunited. How quaint. And yet will it make you truly happy, Swan? Will the two of you-"

"Hook, Neal and I aren't together."

"Oh, but you will be. Because what are the other options? A one-handed pirate with a drinking problem, and I've been told that is less than appealing, or a life without love. And don't argue that Henry is your true love. That could never be called into question. But you deserve so much more. A man to hold you at night, to reassure you of your strength, to fight along side you. Your prince, as it were."

"I don't need a prince, Hook, I think I've proven I am perfectly fine on my own."

"No, I don't suppose you do. But you deserve one," Suddenly, he walked towards her, stopping with his face, his lips, inches from her own, "You deserve so much more than what you allow yourself."

Emma gulped; his words were remarkably similar to those that David had been spewing off.

"I thought you loved me," she stuttered out, the words shocking both Hook and herself. She wasn't sure where that had come from, "I- I mean, I thought we were friends, Hook. And yet-" she blinked back tears, this was all going so wrong. She shouldn't be saying any of this, she should have just gone to Granny's or better yet remained at the station, "You disappeared. I know it's only been a day, I know you have an entire life that I know nothing about but- but I couldn't help but hope that this- whatever we are- all meant something to you. But obviously you're-"

All of the air was ripped from her lungs as he grabbed her, pulling her into him as their lips met once again. This kiss was different from their last. She had wanted to believe it was only lust but there was no pretending this one didn't mean anything. He pressed his lips eagerly into her own, desperate to show her exactly what he felt and she allowed herself to be swept up into the kiss, the movements of lips, his hand and hook holding her tightly against him as they collided. She wanted to live in this moment, to never have to doubt his intentions, to let herself be comforted, feel his warmth protecting her from the cold.

"Emma," he whispered, drawing his lips away from hers and resting his forehead against hers but not letting go- keeping her pressed against him as if she was the only thing that could save him, "I wanted to give you your chance at a happy ending, one without me. I still do. Even if that means you choose a life with Baelfire and Henry." She felt the prickly wetness of tears starting to form and when she looked back up at Hook she saw the same pain mirrored on his face, "I detest the idea of you regretting anything that happens between us. You are everything I could ever desire and nothing that I deserve."

Emma felt as if she had been punched in the gut, her heart and lungs aching as she moved her hands to his face, wiping away his tears.

"You don't deserve me? You risked your life for Henry- for me. Teamed up with a 300 year old foe for me. Confessed your love for me has made you move on from Milah. You have put my happiness above your own so many times and yet you doubt if you deserve me." Throwing her arms around his neck, she nuzzled into him, feeling his heartbeat and letting it soothe her, "Killian Jones, I'm not sure which one of us is this bigger idiot. You for thinking I could ever deserve you or me for not realizing how much I need you- how much I love you."

"Shall we call it a tie?"

He chuckled, the vibrations sending shivers down her spine. His arms brought her in closer, all distance between them gone, and she sighed as she let herself give into him completely.


End file.
